Newsletter

To be able to hire 33 additional employees to help staff its jail in January, Chatham County may rely on using reserve funds that already have taken a hit this year as revenue fails to keep up with expenses.

Sheriff’s department officials say the additional staff is needed to open the first of three new holding units at the facility, which is undergoing a $71 million expansion.

The sheriff’s department estimates the total cost of the staffing increase to be about $1 million, although the county is in the process of reviewing the request and has not confirmed that amount.

The use of reserves will be mitigated by taking down the “temporary” housing tent the county has leased since 2007 to address overcrowding, said Sheriff Al St Lawrence. The sheriff’s department will end the lease in January, and the $232,000 budgeted for those payments will instead be used for new hires, St Lawrence said.

The proposed staff increase is below recommendations included in a recent assessment by the National Sheriffs’ Association, but officials say the increase is enough to operate the facility safely.

Chief Deputy Roy Harris described the study’s recommendations as “pie in the sky” staffing levels designed to cover cases of vacation, sick leave, training and other absences.

“We had to pare it down because the county simply cannot afford it,” Harris said. “We’ve got to live in reality here.”

The staffing report recommends 2.25 people per position, while the sheriff’s department is requesting a ratio of 1.75. That is slightly more than what they have now and the minimum amount needed to ensure the safe operation of the facility, Harris said.

St Lawrence said most of the new hires will be corrections officers, while five will be civilians charged with facility maintenance and telecommunications. The new holding tower is expected to open by March.

The Chatham County Commission is expected to consider the sheriff’s staffing request this month. If approved, the expense would further deplete reserve funds after commissioners approved using almost $3.4 million to cover a budget shortfall for this fiscal year.

Finance Director Linda Cramer said Friday the county has about $5.4 million more than what is needed to adhere to its fiscal policy of maintaining at least two-month’s worth of reserves.

The proposed staffing increase comes after 18 new positions were approved last fiscal year to staff the jail’s new video visitation center. Those positions and increased utility costs for the new housing towers added about $1.4 million to this fiscal year’s budget. Additional hiring is expected next year, although the number of new employees needed has not been finalized.

Some of the study’s recommendations are tied to recent legislation, including new staff to fulfill the requirements of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 that was confirmed by presidential memorandum in May. The standards prescribed in the act are meant to protect inmates from sexual abuse while in the facility.

Two additional deputies are being recommended to serve the mental health and drug courts. According to the report, deputies have to be paid overtime while working during the evening court sessions. In 2011, the overtime pay totaled $114,825. Continuing to pay overtime is viewed as ineffective since the two positions are estimated to cost about $109,000.

Two intelligence specialists were also recommended to help act as a crime deterrent by collecting information from inmates about other suspected criminals and crimes.

The specialists would feed information to law enforcement agencies, St Lawrence said.

“In a lot of cases it would amount to identifying someone who was involved in a crime,” he said. “That’s something we want to do.”

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP BUTLER, Okinawa, Japan — Marine Corps Captain James E. Frederick, who ejected from a Marine F/A-18 on Dec. 7, was pronounced dead after his body was found during search and rescue operations.